Can I release an Android app to Google Play if an app of the same name (not mine) already exists? Must names be unique (first come first served) or does Google Play let 'the free market' decide which one deserves the name?

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At least search IQ Test reveals multiple apps with same name. So I'm assuming application name doesn't have to be unique.
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harismJan 15 '13 at 20:47

Thanks for the link. However, it says ..conflict over the Application package ... and that’s why it is recommended to use the Java package name convention ("com.mydomain.myapp") for the Application package name as it avoids conflict. That makes it sounds like the 'Application package' needs to be unique, but not the app name?
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Sean ConnollyJan 15 '13 at 20:50

2 Answers
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You can release an app named the exact same title string as another app, the package name (in reverse web URL format) is what keeps it unique, for example com.yourwebsite.yourappname or com.yourwebsite.yoursuitename.yourappname, but I would suggest a creative name for something going on the market!

I've got a creative name.. but someone else does too ;) The name is perfect but there another unrelated app with < 100 downloads and very bad reviews. Because of that, if I can use the same name I don't think the conflict would confuse.
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Sean ConnollyJan 15 '13 at 20:52

"the package name [...] is what keeps it unique," This is NOT true. You can have 1000 applications installed with the same pkg. The combination of pkg name, launcherClassName and appName makes it unique. There are applications with the same pkg name in google play. ie. Google+ and Google Photos
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JacksOnF1reJul 24 at 10:45

@JacksOnF1re - This is absolutely false and is flatly contradicted by Google's own documentation. Also, an application's URL in Google Play is determined by the package name alone. For instance, Google+ has the URL https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.plus while Google Photos has the URL https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.photos. (You can have many different APKs for each package name (targeting different API levels, hardware, device capabilities, etc.) but together they are considered as a single application.)
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Ted HoppJul 24 at 15:08

@JacksOnF1re - Not to mention that when an app is installed on a device, the app's APK is saved to a file with the name of the package. Under your logic, two distinct apps with the same package name could not be installed simultaneously on the same device.
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Ted HoppJul 24 at 15:11

"Under your logic, two distinct apps with the same package name could not be installed simultaneously on the same device." I think you got me wrong here. I was saying that this is indeed possible. I should have been more clear about the device thing, I did not talk about play store.
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JacksOnF1reJul 24 at 15:16

Google Play allows many apps to have the same title. However, the application package for each app needs to be unique within Google Play. This is the package attribute value that you provide for the <manifest> tag in the AndroidManifest.xml file of your project. From the docs:

The package name serves as a unique identifier for the application.

which then continues:

Caution: Once you publish your application, you cannot change the package name. The package name defines your application's identity, so if you change it, then it is considered to be a different application and users of the previous version cannot update to the new version.